Hello and welcome to the day after RATSO. It's easy to become overwhelmed with "stuff". You offer to help with one thing and that turns into another and the next thing you know, you're waking up saying, "What the hell was I thinking." We are all different. Some people never get involved. They sit on the edge and watch the madness. I've never been able to do that. I always feel guilty when someone else is "making things happen" for the benefit of others. I get bored easily so I have to do something. When it gets to be too much I sit back, tell myself it will all be good and jump into something else. Sick, sick, sick.

Have you ever noticed that some people just aren't happy unless they are unhappy. It's weird. Some people live to have controversy in their lives, even when it doesn't exist. I don't understand voluntarily going to a bar or restaurant and then bitching the whole time they are there. I stay away from people and places that I'm not comfortable with. There are enough things to be genuinely unhappy about, we don't need to add to the list.

I work on the Saturday in the Park committee and I've watched the main man over the last few years. This guy started the festival 18 years ago. It has become one of the largest and best festivals in the Midwest. The big kahuna keeps his fingers in all aspects of the event. It appears to piss some committee members off at times. I think he has the right to say and do whatever he wants. It's his "festival balls" that are on the line. When the civilians of Sioux Town take potshots at the festival, they are always addressed, "Mr. Bernstein". That's what comes with getting involved. The more involved you are, the more you are exposed to criticism. All you can hope for is that they remember your name when they have something good to say.

Peace.

Hello and welcome to the beginning of summer. My mind has been busy lately. I think it is much healthier for us to stay busy. They say the lack of mental stimulation is the leading cause of Alzheimer's disease. It makes sense that if we don't use it we'll loose it. I know the more I drift along the more drain bed, er, brain dead I become. I've been in a funk for the last year or two.

I've started focusing on the things that I "want" to do. It's so much easier that way. Wouldn't we all be more productive if we did things we enjoy? I've given some thought to this, and I believe a person can make a living doing almost anything that you enjoy. You can be a flavor sampler or a chef and make a living eating. You could be a brewmaster or wine maker and make money drinking. You could be a prostitute and make money having sex. The key is you have to "do" something. It's pretty tough to earn the green sitting on your ass doing nothing.

Enjoy the long weekend. Peace.

Welcome to James McMurtry Day in my world. YAY! We went with a group of fellow music lovers to a McMurtry show in Omaha last night. I really like taking these music road trips! When I was bringing acts to Sioux Town on a regular basis, we weren't traveling as much to get our live music fix. For now, we're "on the road again," and it's cool. McMurtry was great as usual, and the opening band, the Dedringers put on a killer show. The Dedringers are three young guys from Austin, Texas. Check them out. Hey, we didn't even lose anyone this time.

The website my son and I have launched is up and running, http://www.nightlifesux.com/. I'm really happy with the number of hits. It's our goal to become the source for entertainment info in the Siouxland area. There actually is a lot going on in Sioux Town, you just can't miss many of the events.

How about the guy from Georgia selling t-shirts with Curious George and a reference to Obama on the front. This guy is SO backwards, he doesn't think he's done anything wrong! His thick hillbilly accent made it difficult to follow his comments, but near as I could tell, he just thinks the curious one looks like Obama. "His beeg eeyers an' the dad-gummed harline look just like that there Obama fella, I hain't got nuttin again him." The South is gonna rise again...yeah right.

Let's revolt. That's what America is built on, people standing up for what they believe. That's how it all began with those crazy thirteen colony guys. Let's stand up together and say, "There's more of us than you, so here's what we want." We could start with the lack of a decent choice for president. I mean, of the millions of people in America, these scarecrows are the best we have? All we need is a great American to lead this revolution.

Hello. Do you ever feel like just drifting away, spending the rest of your days doing whatever you want? I asked myself..."if you could do anything for the rest of your life, what would it be?" The answer is that I would be a promoter, a booking agent, and devote time to creating art again. I wonder if I can make a living doing this. Many people around the world do.

This is an interesting concept. The concept of living our life the way we want interests me. Live where we want and do what we want everyday sounds really good. After all, we can live, work and play anywhere we want to. There is nothing stopping any of us. Of course money is a factor. It can certainly determine the type of lifestyle a person leads. But, if you were doing what makes you happy, genuinely happy, every day, wouldn't it be worth something? I think it would be worth a lot!

I followed my dreams most of my adult life. Unfortunately, I didn't stay true to them. As I look back, had I stayed true to the original dream, I think I would be real close to reaching the goal. It's not too late. I wandered a little. That's easy for someone with my personality. I learned a few things while I was off the path. I think the plan for the future is simple. Do what makes me happy. Do what I set out to do. After all, life's too short.

Hello and welcome to the weekend. Our son turned 25 years old yesterday. Our daughter turns 27 Tuesday. Wow, does that give you something to think about. I golfed with the boy last night and as I watched him, I thought, what's my little boy doing in this young man's body and mind. Funny isn't it, your children grow up to become "adults". They have their own opinions, they deal with situations in their own way. I guess all you can hope as a parent, is that you've influenced them in some positive way as they leave their path down life's dirt road.

The golf league we are in has an interesting mix of guys. Everything from late teens to early 70's in age. I've noticed that the young guys aren't the same animals that we were in our twenties. They are all hanging around the clubhouse watching the clock making statements like, "This better be my last one, I have to be home soon." Quite a few of the guys have their wives or girlfriends meet them in the clubhouse after they finish golfing. Hell, when we were their age, any talk of needing to be home didn't start until 1:00 or 2:00 am. Maybe this generation saw the damage when they were growing up, and have decided they don't want that in their lives.

I think it's for the best. Hopefully our country will be better with these young people making more stable decisions. I have often thought the younger generation is more of a "ME" society. But I'm realizing that some aspects of their lives are very "WE". Maybe it's their concern about themselves that drives them to do the "right thing".

I believe that our generation is a "WE" society, but sometimes that might not be a good thing. We may have been so concerned with doing what's right for the whole, that we overlooked what is right for the people close to us. I've never wanted to become too deeply involved in other people's lives. It seems like a way to keep things in the larger sense at peace. Maybe we're not a "WE" generation after all.